About

The natural world inspires my work by offering constantly-refreshed images of arresting loveliness.  Tolstoy said, “Love all creation…love every leaf.”  In that spirit, I create images that combine fragility with strength and the evanescent with the eternal.  The evanescent and the eternal appear, for example, in the sand ripples left by the departing water at low tide.  Those ripples are always different, yet eternally the same, and appear as a frequent image in my work.

My fiber art work focuses primarily on landscape, and encompasses two principal types of media.   Some of my creations are painted on cotton, then embellished with thread painting, backed with batting and backing, and finally quilted.  The quilting adds dimensionality to the work.  Some others of my works are felted, which means that they are created by deploying a material called wool roving as if it were paint.  I then enhance this tactile and textured medium with hand embroidery. 

In 2015 I retired from freelance work as a lawyer and writer specializing in employment law topics, but I’ve been sewing all my life, starting with hand embroidery and pin weaving as taught by my grandmother at our home in Hamden, CT.  I learned machine sewing in the public schools of Hamden, CT, and with that skill, I proceeded to construct my own clothes and costumes.  As a law student, I learned to knit, and later, in my early 30s, as a new mother, I began quilting.  I took up felting in my 50s. My fiber art work now includes hand-painted fabric, thread painting, felting, knitted embellishments, hand embroidery, and beading.

My husband, Joseph Rubin, is a retired attorney.  We have three daughters: Julia, Leah and Lucia.

Awards

September 2023, Fence Creek was awarded second place at the Connecticut Women Artists’ National Open Juried Exhibition

May 2022, Connecticut’s Charter Oak (After Frederic Church) was awarded Best in Show at The Fabric of our Journey, a fiber art show at Gallery 53 in Meriden, CT

January 2022, Coastal Heath received Honorable Mention at a fiber art show at Arts Center East, Vernon, Ct

July 2017, Eastham Low Tide received Best in Show at the Cape Cod Art Association's 2017 National Juried Exhibit.

May 2017, Last Day of Summer, First Encounter Beach received Best in Mixed Media and the Brooks Kelly Award in the Cape Cod Art Association's 2017 All Cape Cod show.

February 2016, Coastal Heath received first place in the 72nd Annual Connecticut Artist Exhibition, Slater Museum, Norwich, CT

March 2013,. Two Ways of Looking at Seaside Goldenrod awarded second prize at the West Hartford Art League Annual Members' Juried Show.

Honors

Co-President, Connecticut Women Artists, 2020—2022

Elected Artist, West Hartford Art League

Elected Member, CT Academy of Fine Arts

Solo and Two-Person Exhibits

September 2023, Seascapes and Sculptures, two-person exhibit at the Greater Hartford Jewish Community Center, West Hartford, CT

January—March 2023, Spirit Moving Over the Waters, solo exhibit at Town and County Club, Hartford, CT

October—December 2022 Twigs and Tides, solo exhibit at Duncaster Retirement Community, Bloomfield, CT

January -March 2020, Thread Count, small group exhibit, Hartford Fine Art and Framing, East Hartford, CT

August 2018, Two-person exhibit, Indian Hill Country Club, Newington, CT

November 2015,  Seeking a Path, solo exhibit, Clare Gallery, St. Patrick-St. Anthony Church, Hartford CT

February 2014   Solo exhibit, Town and County Club, Hartford, CT

March 2013       Solo exhibit, Duncaster Retirement Community, Bloomfield, CT

January 2013    Natural Inspirations, Farmington Public Library, Farmington, CT

May 2012          Twigs and Tides, solo exhibit, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT           

January 2011    Solo exhibit , Wethersfield Public Library, Wethersfield, CT

Acceptances into Juried Exhibits (Selected)

2023

• On the John Day River accepted into Greater than the Sum of its Parts, Galatea Gallery, Boston, MA

• Glad Sandwiches and Serious Sushi juried into fiber art exhibit at Arts Center East, Vernon, CT

• Fence Creek accepted into Lyme Art Association exhibit, Ship to Shore, Old Lyme, CT

2022

• Boat Meadow Creek accepted into Connecticut Women Artists’ Annual Members’ Juried Exhibit

• Connecticut’ Charter Oak received Best in Show at the Fabric of our Journey, fiber art exhibit at Gallery 53, Meriden, Ct

• Sundown Dazzle II accepted into Greenwich Art Society’s 105th Annual Exhibition, Bendheim Gallery, Greenwich, C

• Sandy Neck II accepted into West Hartford Art League’s Annual Members’ Juried Exhibit

• Coastal Heath accepted into Fiber Art Exhibit at Arts Center East, Vernon, CT—received honorable mention

2021

• Sand and Foam II and Sculpted Sand in Connecticut Women Artists’ Annual Council Exhibit, Greater Hartford Jewish Community Center

• Not a River and Boat Meadow Creek both accepted into the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts Annual Exhibit (virtual only)

• Sand Ripples With Golden Pebbles II juried into Connecticut Women Artists’ Annual Members’ Juried Exhibit

2020

• Powerful Sands, First Encounter Creek accepted into Lyme Art Association Land & Sea Exhibit

• Sandy Neck II juried into Connecticut Women Artists’ Annual Council Exhibit

• Trout Brook II and Boat Meadow Creek both accepted into Rails, Roads, and Rivers, fiber art show sponsored by the Connecticut chapter of the Studio Art Quilt Associates, Windsor Art Center, Windsor, Connecticut

2019

• Boat Meadow Creek and Trout Brook II both juried into Land, Sea, and Sky, Exhibit sponsored by the West Hartford Art League

• Powerful Sands, First Encounter Creek juried into Granby Land Trust’s exhibit, Celebrating New England’s Natural Beauty

• Entrance juried into No Ordinary Path, exhibit at the Monastery Gallery, West Hartford, CT

• Trout Brook II accepted into Mixed Greens, exhibit at the Art Center East, Vernon, CT

• Spirit Moving Over the Waters juried into the CT Academy of Fine Arts 2019 exhibit

• Heaven on Earth IV juried into Connecticut Women Artists’ Annual Members’ Juried Show

2018 

• Last Day of Summer, First Encounter Beach juried into the Connecticut Women Artists National Open Juried Exhibit

• Land's End and Pemetic Trail chosen for The Road Less Traveled, an exhibit at the Spectrum Gallery, Centerbrook, CT

•  On the basis of submitted work, I was chosen to participate in Explorations:  Journey into Creativity:  The Artist's Studio, a show sponsored by the Studio Art Quilt Associates chapters of CT, MA, and RI, which is to be exhibited in the New England Quilt Museum, Lowell, MA

• Serious Sushi and Homage to Cabbage chosen for See Me,  Feel Me, an exhibit at the Spectrum Gallery, Centerbrook, CT 

2017

• Fall Walking into Winter chosen for Winter, Its Beauty and Secrets, an exhibit at the Spectrum Gallery, Centerbrook, CT

• Before the Storm juried into the Provincetown Art Association and Museum's members' juried show.

  Eastham Low Tide juried into the Cape Cod Art Association's National Juried Exhibit; received Best in Show. 

• Heaven on Earth juried into Sacred Threads, a quilt exhibition in Herndon, VA
  

• Last Day of Summer, First Encounter Beach juried into the Cape Cod Art Association's All Cape Cod exhibit (received Best in mixed Media and the Brooks Kelly award).

• Land's End, Sunset juried into the Connecticut Women Artists Annual Members Juried Show 

• Streetside Lace juried into CT + 6, a multistate juried exhibit sponsored by the West Hartford Art League

2016 

• Coastal Heath juried into the National Juried Show of the Cape Cod Art Association, Barnstable, MA 

• Mushroom Barn at Auer Farm selected for Meadow Life, a celebration of Connecticut's open spaces, at the Slater Museum, Norwich, Connecticut

• Streetside Lace and Coastal Heath were accepted into the 72nd Annual Connecticut Artists Exhibition, Slater Museum, Norwich, Connecticut.  Coastal Heath was awarded first prize.

2015

• Under the Charter Oak Bridge and Jack O'Lantern Mushrooms accepted into Local Color:  Connecticut Stories, tri-state competition sponsored by the Connecticut chapter of the Studio Art Quilt Associates

• Eastham Low Tide III accepted into CT + 6, regional competition sponsored by the West Hartford Art League
  

  Fragile Ties accepted into Black & White, Golden Thread Gallery, West Hartford, CT
  
  Low Tide First Encounter Beach accepted into Out of the Loop, West Hartford Art League, West Hartford, Ct

2013

• April, Every Blade of Grass accepted into Sacred Threads, a quilt exhibition in Herndon, VA 

• March , Shall We? accepted into Dare to Dance, an Artist's Celebration of Joy, published by Schiffer Publishing 

• January, Seeking a Path and Glad Sandwiches accepted into Out of the Loop, a fiber art show sponsored by the West Hartford Art League, West Hartford, CT

2012 

• August, Thus Spake Zarathustra accepted into Art Quilts Lowell 2012, a venue of the Lowell Quilt Festival 

• August, Buddhist Temple I and Buddhist Temple II accepted into Images 2012, a venue of the Lowell Quilt Festival 

• March. Two Ways of Looking at Seaside Goldenrod awarded second prize at 
  West Hartford Art League Annual Members' Juried Show.  
  
  

2011 

• Brussels Sprouts accepted into A Feast for the Eyes: A Food-Themed Art Exhibition, sponsored by United Hebrew of New Rochelle 

• Many-Colored Polypores accepted into Volusia Wrapped in Fiber, sponsored by the Florida chapter of Studio Art Quilt Associates, Peabody Auditorium, Daytona,  Florida  

• Entrance accepted into Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 100thAnnual Exhibition, Mystic Art Center, Mystic, CT

2010

• Homage to Cabbage II accepted into Images 2010, sponsored by the New England Quilt Museum, Lowell, Massachusetts 

• Trout Brook accepted into Out of the Loop, sponsored by the West Hartford Art League, West Hartford, CT

• The Way I Feel about Knitting accepted into Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 99th Annual Exhibition, Mystic Art Center, Mystic, CT

Group Exhibits

2019

Connecticut Women Artists’ Council Exhibit, Mandell Jewish Community Center, November 2019—January 2020

Seven Sisters Sewing, group exhibit at the West Hartford Art League’s Saltbox Gallery, West Hartford, Connecticut

2018

Council Exhibit, featuring the work of the members of the Council of Connecticut Women Artists 


2016
March-April
Soulful Journeys, with the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective, at the Windsor Art Center, March 12--April 23, 2016


2015 
January-March
Art History, and Social Action:  CtFAC Honors Romare Bearden, with the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective, Hartford Public Library, December 17, 2014--March 13, 2015.  

2014
September-October 

Jazz Tones and Things that Go, Connecticut Department of Transportation, September 9--October 23, with the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective. 
August
Woody Sez, Theaterworks Gallery, August 8--September 21, with the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective. 
Five Fiber Friends, River Street Gallery, Fair Haven Furniture, New Haven, Ct, August 3--September 21, with Trish Hodge, Mickey Lawler, Kate Themel, and Diane Wright.

June
Jazz Tones, Greater Hartford Arts Council's 100 Pearl Street Gallery, Hartford, Connecticut, June 15--August 23, with the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective.
May
Northwest Corner, Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, CT, with the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective 
April
Spring Fling, Nest Arts Factory, Bridgeport, CT, April 13--May 9, with the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective 
March
Spring Thaw, Duncaster Retirement Community, Bloomfield, CT, March 1--28, with the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective


2013
November
Connecticut Department of Transportation, Wethersfield, CT, with Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective 
August-September
Norfolk Artisans Gallery, Norfolk, CT, with Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective 
June 
Bartlett Arboretum, Stamford, CT, with Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective 
January
Stairwell Gallery, Gunn Memorial Library, Washington, CT, with Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective

2012
December
Connecticut Landscapes, Prospect Public Library, Prospect, CT, with the Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective

July
Spontaneous Fibers, with a group of quilting friends, CT Department of Transportation, Wethersfield. CT 
February    
 Read/Red, Southbury Public Library, Southbury, CT, with Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective

January 
Identity and Other Things, Southbury Public Library, Southbury, CT, with Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective 

2011 
November
Identity, Clark Memorial Library, Bethany, CT, with Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective

October        
Identity, Levi Coe Library, Middlefield, CT, with Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective

September 
Fiber Harvest, Noah Webster Library, West Hartford, CT, with Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective
May-June 
Small Quilts for a Sacred Space, Unitarian Society of Hartford, Hartford, CT, with Connecticut Fiber Arts Collective

2010  
May, Stars of the Valley, Warwick Quilt Guild, Warwick, NY


2008 
September,  American Sewing Expo, The Art of the Quilt, Novi, MI